Surging Braves bid to extend NL East lead over Phillies

The Atlanta Braves’ four-game set with the Philadelphia Phillies got off a rousing start on Friday.

The Braves hope to gain additional ground on the second-place Phillies in the National League East on Saturday evening when the teams continue their series in Philadelphia.

Friday’s opener featured a strong effort by Atlanta ace Chris Sale — who gave up two runs over six innings — and a two-run homer from Mauricio Dubon. The Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. got in on the fun with three hits, including an RBI single, as the Braves posted a 5-2 victory to win for the ninth time in their past 11 games.

“That first game of a big series, having (Sale) on the mound, it’s what you want,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “He never disappoints. … He’s great basically every time out.”

Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sanchez was no slouch on Friday, yielding three runs over six innings. Alec Bohm homered and drove in two runs for the Phillies (79-62), but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from dropping five games behind the Braves (84-57) in the division.

“Obviously, this was not the way we wanted to start the series,” Bohm said Friday. “… We understand it’s a big series, and if we come in here and have a good series, we can shake things up a bit and put ourselves in a really good spot. So obviously let’s flush tonight and show up ready to win a big game tomorrow.”

The teams have six matchups against each other remaining, including Saturday, over the final 21 contests of the regular season.

Atlanta hopes to continue building momentum toward a division title as it turns to Martin Perez (8-8, 3.05 ERA) on Saturday. The veteran left-hander made six starts in August, posting a 1.76 ERA while allowing one earned run or less in five outings.

“I think we’re all on the same page,” Perez said last Saturday after allowing one run in 5 2/3 innings in his team’s 2-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. “Our goal is to just put up good innings and help the team win.”

Perez has faced the Phillies once this season — a 9-0 win on April 17 in which he gave up just four hits in six scoreless innings. He is 5-1 with a 3.39 ERA in his career against Philadelphia.

The Phillies will counter with right-hander Zack Wheeler (11-5, 3.31 ERA), who delivered a strong performance Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels. He gave up one run in six innings in a 5-2 victory after scuffling through his first five August outings.

“His four-seam fastball had more life today, more carry, and he was locating it better,” Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “When he’s doing that, he’s at his best and he can blow away good fastball hitters with his fastball. He’s close. We have all the faith in the world that he’s going to be the guy for us that he’s been in the past.”

Wheeler is 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA lifetime against Atlanta. He has faced the Braves only once this season — on April 25 — and gave up two runs over five innings in a no-decision.

–Field Level Media